11.19.2012

Something very interesting happened at 3:26 AM, Saturday Morning in the small town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Someone had posted an advertisement titled "Maigc The Gathering 2013 Foil RARES" ('magic' spelled incorrectly) on Craigslist. In this advertisement for sale was six Magic: the Gathering cards - one a foil and non-foil Jace, Architect of Thought and five other cards, all foils - from a set that had not yet been released. Specifically - 'Gatecrash', the second set in the Return to Ravnica block, expected to hit shelves in gaming stores 1st February, 2013.

If you are not aware (we're certain most of you are), Craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events - oh and all things sketchy. The Craigslist poster also posted images of these cards as well. To say that the gaming community was skeptical is an understatement - to have five big spoilers (all Mythic rare) spoiled this early (the NPH godbook incident excepted), is unheard of. Having all these cards in foil, even more so. Forum members everywhere had tried to poke holes in this and still have not yet definitely identified these as fake / counterfeit cards. The images of these cards are now everywhere (Starcity Games forums, Gathering Magic, and MTG Salvation) and have seeped into almost every social media platform, and still no-one has produced an viable argument against the authenticity of these cards.

Oddly enough, the company which prints cards for Wizards of the Coast does have printing facilities in North Carolina and South Dakota. It is not out of the realm of possibility that these cards may have originated from the facility but by what means requires further investigation. We think it unlikely that the Craigslist poster actually knows Magic: the Gathering all that well and may have no idea that his post may now be the focus of an Wizards of the Coast probe. At the very least, the cards may be seized and charges of theft could be laid. At the other end of the scale, a legal case for theft of intellectual property may be made. As of this morning, the Craigslist posting had been deleted by its author.

So, are these fake? Until we know better, we do not think so - in fact StarCity Games have these up on their site for pre-order now. Here's the obligatory warning - Please treat the following with great suspicion and only refer to the Wizards of the Coast for official previews. Enter the Infinite, 8uuuuSorcery, Mythic RareDraw cards equal to the number of cards in your library, then put a card from your hand on top of your library. You have no maximum hand size until your next turn."Don't just have an idea-have all of them." -Niv-MizzetIllus. Terese Nielsen #34/249

Hellkite Tyrant, 4rrCreature - Dragon, Mythic RareFlying, trampleWhenever Hellkite Tyrant deals combat damage to a player, gain control of all artifacts that player controls.At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control twenty or more artifacts, you win the game.Illus. Aleksi Briclot 6/5

Aurelia, the Warleader, 2rrwwLegendary Creature - Angel, Mythic RareFlying, vigilance, hasteWhenever Aurelia, the Warleader attacks for the first time each turn, untap all creatures you control. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.Where Razia was aloof and untouchable, Aurelia is on the frontlines, calling for war.Illus. Slawomir Maniak #143/2493/4Borborygmos Enraged, 4rrggLegendary Creature - Cyclops, Mythic RareTrampleWhenever Borborygmous Enraged deals combat damage to a player, reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all land cards revealed this way into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.Discard a land card: Borborygmos Enraged deals 3 damage to target creature or player.Illus. Aleksi Briclot #147/249 7/6

Domri Rade, 1rgPlaneswalker - Domri, Mythic Rare+1: Look at the top card of your library. If it's a creature card, you may reveal it and put it into your hand.-2: Target creature you control fights another target creature.-7: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control have double strike, trample, hexproof and haste."3Illus. Tyler Jacobsen #150/249